The present invention relates to a display hook system for hanging merchandise off of a vertical surface and a method for the same.
With labor costs continually rising, it is no longer feasible to mark prices on each piece of merchandise or item that is sold in retail stores and outlets. Accordingly, almost all merchandise is marked with a bar code or optical scanning code based upon the uniform product code (UPC) which can be read by optically or electronically scanning devices such as cash registers and inventory control devices. The bar code is transformed into information relating to the product such as the product name, price, etc. and, at the point of purchase this information is used to generate a customer receipt. This business system reduces the chance of error at the checkout and also permits continuous gathering and reporting of inventory data for the merchandise sold by the retail outlet. With respect to inventory control devices, the bar code permits an inventory to be rapidly taken by an operator at the point of product display.
Since the products or merchandise do not bear a label containing the price of the merchandise (due to the bar code data displayed on the merchandise), it is important to display the price of the merchandise on the display system or vehicle carrying the merchandise at the product display point. A label or sign bearing the price, description of the merchandise, and bar code is customarily placed on the display system. This label at the point of display permits store personnel to scan the bar code by a portable scanner thereby permitting an inventory to be taken of all the merchandise in the store.
Various display systems have been developed in the past. U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,169 to Hochman discloses a slide down body 22 with a lower surface having a groove therein to accommodate a wire 32 angularly extending outboard from a vertical surface. Wire 32 has a curved end close which fits into the pegboard. The slide down body prevents the upward rotation of the wire due to the abutment of the body atop the wire in the region adjacent the pegboard. To remove this display system, the slide down body must be moved vertically upward beyond the wire and the wire must be rotated through an arc such that the remote end of the wire, remote from the pegboard, rotates toward the pegboard such that the wire clip is withdrawn from the pegboard hole. In another embodiment, a keeper is mounted onto the pegboard and the keeper has a vertical through passage into which is placed one leg of the wire. A slide down body is then placed over the wire. To remove this display system from the wall, the slide down body must first be lifted from the wire, the wire must then be withdrawn from the vertical through passage of the keeper, and then the keeper must be rotated through an arc to withdraw the keeper legs from the pegboard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,440 to Thalenfeld discloses a different display system. This system includes a pivoting lug plate that has legs extending through and beyond a pegboard surface. A cross bar is welded to the base of a wire extension. The cross bar is normal to the axial center line of the wire extension on which the merchandise is hung. To remove this display system from the pegboard, the lug is rotated arcuately and the system is horizontally withdrawn from the pegboard. At the distal end of one of the extension wires, remote from the pegboard, a removable information/display surface is attached to the wire. This display surface protects and covers both the top extension wire and the lower extension wire.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,351 to Thalenfeld discloses another display system. In this system, a base has back hooks which extend through a pegboard. The upper and lower extension wires are welded to a cross piece normal to the axial center line of both extension wires. The cross piece is held by the base in recesses that are spaced substantially forward of the back wall or pegboard. To remove this display system, the cross piece must be withdrawn from the recesses of the base and then the base is arcuately rotated to withdraw the back hooks from the pegboard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,209 to Thalenfeld discloses another display system. A cross bar is attached to the proximal end of the extension wire and is held in recesses spaced from the pegboard surface. In order to remove this display system, a tab on the base, defining the recesses, is rotated thereby withdrawing the back hooks of the base from behind the pegboard. The depending end of the extension wire proximate the pegboard surfaces moves along the pegboard due to the arcuate rotation of the base because the cross piece is rotatably held in the recesses. U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,721 to Thalenfeld; U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,626 to Thalenfeld et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,051 to Thalenfeld; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,763 to Hochman show other display systems.
One of the problems with the aforementioned display systems is that it may be necessary to require removable of vertically adjacent shelves or obstructions, that is, obstructions immediately above the display systems, in order to mount the display system onto the vertical wall. Typically, the vertical wall is a pegboard, slat wall, or other type surface. Some of these display systems require a very large vertical area in which the display system can be rotated in order to mount the system to the vertical surface. A further problem with some of the aforementioned display systems is that the extending wires or rods can be accidentally or unintentionally removed from the vertical surface. Particularly, if the outboard or distal end of the extension wire is rotated arcuately, the base may accidentally be withdrawn from the pegboard or vertical surface. A further problem with some of these display systems is that they lack any type of shield for reducing the possibility that the distal ends of the extension rods or wires may accidentally injure a customer in the store due to the protruding nature of the extension wire.